It was not permissible to discount a number of failures to comply with the requirements of Part 36 as matters of mere technicality
Rule 36.14 represented a departure from otherwise established costs practice and imposed deliberately swingeing costs sanctions on claimants who failed to beat a defendant's Part 36 offer. That was designed to encourage a sensible approach to offers and promote settlement. But there was no reason or justification to indirectly extend Part 36 beyond its expressed ambit. The general rule was that for an offer to be a Part 36 offer, it had to strictly comply with the requirements. It was not permissible to discount a number of failures to comply with the requirements of Part 36 as the merest technicality.
